Johnny Maestro, born John Peter Mastrangelo on May 7, 1939 in Manhattan, New York, was an American pop vocalist. After graduating from Charles Evans Hughes High School, he joined the doo‑wop group the Crests in 1956, where his powerful lead helped the single "16 Candles" reach number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958; the group released several Top‑20 hits and toured extensively. In 1968, Johnny Maestro formed the Brooklyn Bridge, combining vocal harmony with a horn section, and their cover of "Worst That Could Happen" (1978) peaked at number 3 on the pop chart, selling over a million copies and earning a gold disc. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Johnny Maestro remained the frontman for the group, which accumulated over 10 million record sales by 1972 and received multiple hall‑of‑fame inductions, including the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005. Johnny Maestro died of kidney cancer on 24 March 2010 at age 70; posthumously, the intersection of Mason and Midland Avenues in Staten Island was renamed Johnny Maestro Way in 2011, and he was honored by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012.
